


A future like no other

by orphan_account



Category: The Young Pope (TV)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Parent-Child Relationship, This is me trying to answer questions, Why did they leave him at the orphanage?, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Why did his parents leave Lenny in that orphanage on that fateful summer afternoon? Maybe the answers were right under his nose all along.
Kudos: 2





	A future like no other

The air trembled from the heat in the car, as the old machine coughed out the kilometres. It seemed like it could give out any moment, but it held on heroically. Inside, the smell of gas and sweat fought a continuous battle for dominance with the strawberry-scented air freshener tree that dangled from the mirror sadly aware of its inevitable defeat.

Lenny's eyelids felt heavy as he stared through his lashes at the clouds running beside them. The afterthought of the cheap lemon flavoured ice cream that he had eaten earlier still lingered in his mouth. It was sickly sweet and tasted nothing like lemon. Ma said that it was because of the chemicals that were put in there. She didn't like him eating ice cream, for this exact reason but today was a Special Day. At least that's what she told him. They had lots of those in these months since they left home. It meant sweets, tears and arriving at a strange place just to have Ma and Pa eventually shake their heads and leave.  
He tried to distract himself from the heat by conjuring up the memories of a particular orange flavoured candy he had eaten at a petrol station last week. It had a hard exterior that broke into sharp, white shards under his teeth revealing a gooey filling that stuck to the roof of his mouth like glue. Categorizing sweets was the only way he could measure the time spent on the road as the days faded into one another quickly. He could barely remember the places they had been to. They all had names like Sunburst Valley, Pine Forest Camp and Family of Peace. People there sometimes wore white robes, sometimes light clothing and very often, nothing. There were singing, chanting, flower crowns and tents with colourful patterns. Women and men that smelled of smoke, herbs and sweat sometimes absentmindedly patted his head as they were talking to his parents about him, agreeing that he was a very special boy. Now, Lenny wasn't stupid, he was far from that. Ma and Pa did a bad job of hiding the fact that they were going to leave him somewhere. He wasn't quite sure for how long though. He only knew that he was going to have a "new family." Having two families was better than having one, right? He always wanted a brother.

"Are you okay up there, Lenny?" Pa asked glancing towards him from the driver's seat.

He asked this a lot nowadays. Lenny thought it was a stupid question but he didn't want to say that out loud. Maybe, they'd leave him out later if he behaved better.

"I'm okay."

Pa didn't look quite convinced but at least turned his attention towards the road again.

"We're gonna stop at the next petrol station. Do you need to use the toilet? Or do you want anything? Sweets?"

He felt sick at the thought of more candy.

"No, thanks. I'd rather sleep." He mumbled.

His parents exchanged a glance that he didn't quite understand.

"Okay, I'll get you your pillow from the trunk then."

He didn't actually plan on sleeping but as the car started to slow down, his eyelids started getting heavier and heavier. The heat made him drowsy and suddenly, the stuttering music emanating from the radio sounded like some kind of made-up language, only half of the words making their way to his consciousness. He could barely hear the car door open and only years later, he would even begin to remember fragments of the conversation he overheard.

"Do you really want to talk about this here?" 

This was Ma's voice, exhausted but sharp. As if they've had this conversation already.

"He is asleep, he won't hear us."

The small part of Lenny that was still conscious wanted to protest, that he is awake but he couldn't seem to be able to move.

Ma sighed.

"Fine. Look, we can't care for him and you know that perfectly. We have to leave him somewhere."

"Why? Because of some stupid dreams? I can guarantee you that everyone who ever got high in their lives has dreamed at least once that they were the second coming of Christ, you ain't special for hallucinating that you are the Virgin Mary herself but let me tell you, the difference between them and you, is that they don't take it seriously."

"He is special and I know it."

" _You were high._ "

"And what if I was? I still know damn well what I saw."

"You are just eager to leave him, don't you?"

There was a sharp intake of breath and then long seconds of silence before Ma finally spoke.

"Don't you see him in his eyes? she asked quietly. 

"Him?"

"God."

There was silence again but this time, it sat heavier on the car and its passengers.

"Even if you are right, do you really want to take him to that orphanage? You hated it there."

His voice was full of a strange emotion, that Lenny later came to know as resignation.

"We drove through all the other places we could think of in the last months. None of them was right for him."

"They were great peop-"

"They were but they didn't see just how special Lenny really is. If there is anything good about those damned Catholics that they can sniff out extraordinary people from miles away."

"I still don't like it."

"Me neither, love. But it's just what we have to do. For him."

The voices quieted and Lenny slipped deeper into the hands of sleep. Later, he didn't remember what he dreamed of but he felt cold as he jolted awake even though it was still the middle of the afternoon.

"We are almost there, Lenny."

"Where?"

He asked, shivering in the summer heat. Ma handed him a sweater and smiled. It didn't look like a happy smile. 

"To the place, you'll be staying."

"The place with the new family?"

Her expression darkened for a moment.

"Yes, with the new family. You'll have a new Ma and Pa."

"Will I have a brother?" He asked after a moment of quiet consideration.

"I'm sure you'll have lots of brothers."

"For how long?"

"Long enough, love."

He nodded quietly and turned to the window, to see the trees slowing down next to them. He watched as the car drew nearer and nearer to a peculiar future that one day, would be broadcast on television shows and written down in newspapers. A future like no other.

He still felt cold.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while I was horribly sleep-deprived so please forgive me for the quality.


End file.
